Crown seeks eight-year jail term for man guilty of shooting, stabbing

Twenty-two year-old to be sentenced next month

James Shawn Halleran, who shot and stabbed a man on Southside Road last year, speaks to his lawyer Randy Piercey before the start of his sentencing hearing at provincial court in St. John’s Thursday afternoon. — Photo by Rosie Gillingham/The Telegram

A man who shot and stabbed another man in the midst of a drug deal is looking at some major time behind bars.

Just how long James Shawn Halleran will be in jail will be decided by a judge next month.

During Halleran’s sentencing hearing at provincial court in St. John’s Thursday, the Crown requested that the 22-year-old get an eight-year prison term.

Halleran’s lawyer suggested a jail sentence of four to five years.

Judge Lori Marshall will make her final determination Jan. 9.

Halleran and a 17-year-old were arrested following an incident that happened in the afternoon of Oct. 26, 2011.

According to the agreed statement of facts, Halleran and the teen were at

231A Southside Rd. — where Halleran’s uncle lived — to meet a drug dealer, who was to sell them five pounds of marijuana.

When the dealer showed up, the teen had a small, cardboard box on the table, which he said contained $14,500. A disagreement arose as to the price of the marijuana. The teen said, “Don’t worry. You’re not getting any money'

Halleran, who had not been in the room, suddenly appeared, masked and holding a .22-calibre rifle. The drug dealer quickly tried to bag his marijuana, but Halleran hit him in the head with the gun. That sparked a fracas that saw the teen order Halleran to shoot the 40-year-old man. As all three were struggling, Halleran fired the gun and hit the man in the leg.

As Halleran was trying to reload the gun, the teen and the man were struggling on the floor. The teen asked Halleran to shoot the man again.

The man managed to grab the gun. It was then Halleran and the teen stabbed the man several times.

Halleran went back into the back room and came out with another long gun. He wasn’t wearing a mask this time.

The man — who was rescued by his two friends who rushed into the house — was admitted to hospital in critical condition with multiple stab wounds to his upper torso and a gunshot wound to his left leg.

He needed surgery to repair an aortic bleed caused by the stabbing. The gunshot caused a fracture to one of the man’s leg bones. He was discharged from hospital in November 2011.

Halleran was arrested Nov. 3, 2011, and was originally denied bail. He applied for a bail review and was eventually released.

However, he was picked up by police again Sept.18 of this year and charged with breaching curfew conditions of his recognizance. He’s been in jail ever since.

A few months ago, he pleaded guilty to three charges — aggravated assault, discharging a weapon with intent and breach of probation.

Crown prosecutor Lisa Stead said the incident was serious enough to warrant an eight-year sentence.

She pointed out that the men had planned the robbery — Halleran hid in the back room, while the teen lured the man inside the house.

Stead also noted that a weapons — a gun and knives — were also used in carrying out the crime.

Defence lawyer Randy Piercey said his client, who has a short criminal record, is extremely remorseful about what he did.

He said Halleran had a serious drug addiction at the time, especially to Percocet. According to the pre-sentence report, Halleran, who was diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, was also suffering from depression.

The 17-year-old, who cannot be named due to a court ban, was also arrested and charged in connection with the incident.

He was sentenced in February to 16 months in a youth detention centre after pleading guilty to aggravated assault and armed robbery.

The teen was given three months’ credit for the time he had spent in pre-trial custody, leaving 13 months on his term. He will then spend six months under community supervision.

rgillingham@thetelegram.com

Twitter: @TelyCourt

James Shawn Halleran, who shot and stabbed a man on Southside Road last year, speaks to his lawyer Randy Piercey before the start of his sentencing hearing at provincial court in St. John’s Thursday afternoon. — Photo by Rosie Gillingham/The Telegram

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December 17, 2012 - 01:55

Don't judge a book by it's cover.. He is actually a sweet kind person who made a very bad mistake.. No one wants you to feel bad because he HAD an addition. It wasn't him who done this, it was the drugs. And he's doing everything he can to get help he needs! He's never going back again, who are you to say anything about james or in fact any other person who made a mistake? James is doing everything he can to put himself back together and get his life on track and to come back a better person!

These criminals need to be taken off the streets and 8 years sounds like the correct amount of time for this serious crime....he could be looking at murder? And I wish the lawyers would stop hiding these bad nasty criminals and drug dealers behind labels such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. What a JOKE! Depression....another joke...there are plenty of people in society that have such illnesses that would never hurt another human being. Stop hiding these crooks behinds labels because society is sick of hearing this crap. A crook is crook is a crook...he just got caught!

4-5 years you got to be kidding me!! Dont this read attempted murder to anyone? Only for the victims friends showed up he would have been left to die on the floor. The face that the 17 year old is getting a slap on the wrist when he was just as involved is disgusting, we'll see his name on the news again in a few years for something worse. For the other ladio to say he is remorsful, BUDDY i dont feel sorry for ya addiction or not, no reason to try take someones life, if i was the judge id throw them both in the cellar for 20 years and swallow the key but i guess that makes too much sense around here. With our justice system being this easy going we can get away with anything its making our what was a lovely province, a scary place to live in

HBG

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